{"id":402,"date":"2016-07-25T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T18:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/?p=402"},"modified":"2016-09-28T08:48:06","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T15:48:06","slug":"midnight-on-the-ocean-and-other-nonsensical-songs-by-stewart-hendrickson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/2016\/07\/25\/midnight-on-the-ocean-and-other-nonsensical-songs-by-stewart-hendrickson\/","title":{"rendered":"Midnight on the Ocean and Other Nonsensical Songs, by Stewart Hendrickson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/StreetcarOnTheOcean.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"285\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Silver_Threads_Among_the_Gold\" target=\"_blank\">Silver Threads Among the Gold<\/a><\/em>, copyrighted in 1873, was a popular song in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lyrics are by Eben E. Rexford, and the music by Hart Pease Danks: \u201c<em>Darling I am growing old\/ Silver threads among the gold\/ Shine upon my brow today\/ Life is fading fast away<\/em>.\u201d It was recorded by Richard Jose in 1903, and later by Bing Crosby in 1948. A beautiful but very sentimental song, it was destined to be the tune for many silly nonsensical parodies throughout the early to mid twentieth century.<!--more--><\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8K1zI6UjdRQ\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The song was parodied as\u2026<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Pkb-dae6Agc\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>IN THE BOARDING HOUSE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the boarding house where I live,<br \/>\nEv&#8217;rything is growing old,<br \/>\nSilver threads are on the butter,<br \/>\nAll the bread is growing mold;<br \/>\nWhen the dog died,<br \/>\nWe had sausage,<br \/>\nWhen the cat died,<br \/>\nCatnip tea,<br \/>\nWhen the landlord died I left there,<br \/>\nSpareribs were too much for me<\/p>\n<p>and <strong>MIDNIGHT ON THE OCEAN<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was midnight on the ocean, not a streetcar was in sight.<br \/>\nWhile the sun was shining brightly, for it had rained all the night.<br \/>\n&#8216;Twas a summer&#8217;s day in winter, and the rain was snowing fast,<br \/>\nAs the barefoot boy with shoes on stood there sitting in the grass.<\/p>\n<p>It was evening and the sunrise was setting in the west,<br \/>\nAnd the fishies in the tree-tops were all cuddled in their nests.<br \/>\nAs the wind was blowing bubbles, lightning shot from left to right.<br \/>\nEverything that you should see had been hidden out of sight.<\/p>\n<p>While the organ peeled potatoes, lard was rendered by the choir.<br \/>\nWhen the sexton rang the dish rag, someone set the church on fire.<br \/>\n&#8220;Holy smoke!&#8221; the preacher shouted, as he madly tore his hair,<br \/>\nNow his head resembles heaven, for there is no parting there.<\/p>\n<p>It is hard to know when these verses originated, but many date back to at least 1928, if not earlier, when Harry \u201cMac\u201d McClintock recorded this song, albeit to a different tune, as <strong>Ain\u2019t We Crazy<\/strong>. Many versions are discussed on <a href=\"http:\/\/mudcat.org\/thread.cfm?threadid=31797\" target=\"_blank\">Mudcat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1RJ6FF2bxbE\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>I learned these songs in the 1950s from <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ioca.org\/songfest\/\" target=\"_blank\">Song Fest<\/a><\/em> (by Dick and Beth Best, published by the <em>Intercollegiate Outing Club Assoc<\/em>.), which goes back to 1948. There are other nonsensical songs in that book, a treasure-trove of songs popular with college students in the 1940s and \u201850s. Here are some other such songs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BE KIND TO YOUR WEB-FOOTED FRIENDS, <\/strong>to the tune, <em>Stars and Stripes Forever.<\/em> An early reference goes back to <em>ca<\/em>. 1942 on a Fred Allen radio show, sung, with feeling, by Portland Hoffa. A couple of weeks later, a less successful variant was aired: <em>Be kind to the jackass and the donkey and the mule, Remember, Brooklyn is also a burro<\/em>. See the <a href=\"http:\/\/mudcat.org\/thread.cfm?threadid=71730#3477645\" target=\"_blank\">Mudcat forum<\/a>. Also recorded by Peter and Mary in 1954: <strong>Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends &#8211; \u00a0Crazy Mixed Up Song.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dm-FY9xpf6Y\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Be kind to your web-footed friends<br \/>\nFor a duck may be somebody\u2019s mother<br \/>\nBe kind to the denizens of the swamp<br \/>\nWhere the weather is always damp.<\/p>\n<p>Be kind to you old umbrella<br \/>\nFor some day it may be under the weather<br \/>\nBe kind to your old pair of shoes\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Be kind to your fur-bearing friends<br \/>\nFor a skunk may be somebody\u2019s brother<br \/>\nBe kind to your friends with the stripe\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Be kind to your flat-footed friends<br \/>\nFor a cop may be somebody&#8217;s brother<br \/>\nBe kind to your friends on the beat&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>You may think that this is the end,<br \/>\nWell, it is!<\/p>\n<p><strong>GO GET THE AXE (aka PEEPIN\u2019 THROUGH THE KNOT-HOLE)<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cA bob-haired blond girl with a dirty face stood on a downtown street corner in Chicago singing this song, she wore green goggles and held out a tin cup to passers-by, she was being initiated \u2026 We have heard the piece sung and giggled \u2026 As to gigglers we quote Cherubini, \u2018The only thing worse than one flute is two flutes.\u2019\u201d Carl Sandburg, <em>The American Songbag<\/em>, 1927. Here it\u2019s sung by <em>The Homestead Pickers<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RqusgAALWCU\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Peepin\u2019 through the knot-hole of grandpa\u2019s wooden leg<br \/>\nWho\u2019ll wind the clock when I am gone?<br \/>\nGo get the ax, there\u2019s a flea in Lizzie\u2019s ear,<br \/>\nFor a boy\u2019s best friend is his mother.<\/p>\n<p>Peepin\u2019 through the knot-hole of Grandpa\u2019s wooden leg<br \/>\nWhy do they build the shore so near the ocean?<br \/>\nWho cut the sleeves out of dear old daddy\u2019s vest<br \/>\nAnd dug up Fido\u2019s bones to build the sewer.<\/p>\n<p>A horsey stood around with his feet upon the ground<br \/>\nOh who will wind the clock when I am gone?<br \/>\nGo get the ax, there\u2019s a fly on Lizzie\u2019s ear<br \/>\nBut a boy\u2019s best friend is his mother.<\/p>\n<p>I fell from a window, a second-story window,<br \/>\nI caught my eyebrow on the window-sill<br \/>\nThe cellar is behind the door, Mary\u2019s room is behind the ax,<br \/>\nBut a boy\u2019s best friend is his mother.<\/p>\n<p><em>And other verses:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While looking out the window, a second story window,<br \/>\nI slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement,<br \/>\nGo get the Listerine, sister has a beau,<br \/>\nWho cut the sleeves off father&#8217;s vest, his vest.<\/p>\n<p>While walking in the moonlight, the bright and sunny moonlight,<br \/>\nShe kissed me in the eye with a tomato, tomato,<br \/>\nWe feed the baby garlic so we can find him in the dark,<br \/>\nAn onion is a husky vegetable, a table.<\/p>\n<p>She spanked him with a shingle, and made his panties tingle,<br \/>\nBecause he socked his little baby brother, his brother,<br \/>\nA snake&#8217;s belt slips, because he has no hips,<br \/>\nAnd he wears his necktie round his middle, his middle.<\/p>\n<p>While looking out the window, a second story window,<br \/>\nI slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement,<br \/>\nGo get the Listerine, sister has a beau,<br \/>\nWho cut the sleeves off father&#8217;s vest, his vest.<\/p>\n<p>A-peeking through the knothole, in grandpa&#8217;s wooden leg,<br \/>\nOh who has built the shore so near the ocean, the ocean,<br \/>\nGo get the alcohol, Willy wants a drink,<br \/>\nGrandma&#8217;s false teeth will soon fit baby, fit baby.<\/p>\n<p>Do you know these songs? Have you heard them before? There may be a new generation of kids and not-so-old adults who don\u2019t know these songs. They\u2019re part of our folklore and should be passed on. <em>Stewart Hendrickson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Silver Threads Among the Gold, copyrighted in 1873, was a popular song in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lyrics are by Eben E. Rexford, and the music by Hart Pease Danks: \u201cDarling I am growing old\/ Silver threads among the gold\/ Shine upon my brow today\/ Life is fading fast away.\u201d It &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/2016\/07\/25\/midnight-on-the-ocean-and-other-nonsensical-songs-by-stewart-hendrickson\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Midnight on the Ocean and Other Nonsensical Songs, by Stewart Hendrickson&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":415,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}